Love & Wrestling
by elliexhardy
Summary: Maria has had her ups and downs throughout the year. The biggest one of all, John cheating on her with Liz. What happens when John is engaged and Maria wants him back? Well of course, she challenges him to a wrestling match. John/Maria, Randy/Candice


_**Love & Wrestling**_

_**John/Maria one-shot**_

A/N: I own nothing and no one...although I wish I could own John…lol. Story came to me after watching a scene from the movie "Love and Basketball"…I just changed it up a bit…enjoy!

-xxxxxxx-

**Maria POV;**

Here I am lying here in bed and trying to fall asleep, but I just can't. Why? Well you see; right across the hall from me is where my ex-boyfriend is sleeping. It's just that he's getting married soon to some girl named Liz and I know that he knows he's making a big mistake. We have quite some history between the two of us. I mean we were the couple that everyone envied because we were just so perfect and we were deeply in love with each other. Many people tried to break-us apart but it never worked. Our love prevailed…well; at least I thought it did. You see, while I was out promoting my Playboy issue in March of 2008, we kind of drifted apart. We hardly saw each other, but I still wanted us to work. Unfortunately John couldn't handle it. It was the Monday Night that I revealed my Playboy cover to the world and I was happy. I decided that after the show I would go to John's room and spend some "quality time" with him, when I went to his room and opened the door, I saw him with some other girl, who I now know as Liz, his fiancée. I was heartbroken at the sight and I left. Needless to say, our relationship ended…but my love for him never did. That is why I can't sleep. He's getting married in two weeks and I just want to tell him that I love him and I always have. These feelings just can't go away. I have to talk to him and even though it's 2 in the morning, I have to do this for myself and maybe for him to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life.

-

**John POV;**

I've been lying in my bed for the past three hours, just thinking about my wedding to Liz in two weeks. I am truly nervous to say the least, I will now be committed to one woman for the rest of my life and it scares me to death. Don't get me wrong, I mean I love Liz with all my heart, but she just doesn't compare to the woman in the room across the hall from me. She was my one true love and I was so stupid to make the mistake of cheating on her with my now fiancé. Our relationship was filled with excitement, love, passion and eternal happiness. Never once did we fight about anything and we were both so supportive of each other. When she was offered the chance to do Playboy, I was truly ecstatic for her and I was by her side the whole time. I knew that this wouldn't change her at all, she would still be the same girl that I fell in love with and she wouldn't turn into one of those girls who would be way in over their head about doing something like this.

Maria was out most of the time, promoting her Playboy issue and doing non-stop radio appearances, interviews and TV shows. I wasn't one to complain, but not being able to see her everyday, like we used to, was killing me. I needed to hear her voice, kiss her soft lips, see her beautiful smile and look into her gorgeous green eyes that I became in love with, oh so many times. I was lonely and I felt the need to have someone by my side while she was gone. In came Liz. I was with her since Maria revealed to the world that she would in fact be gracing the pages of Playboy and without Maria knowing, I was cheating on her with Liz.

Unfortunately, the night that Maria found out about my cheating ways, was the same night that I planned on ending things with Liz and the night that I planned on telling Maria everything between Liz and myself. She walked into our room that night, with the biggest smile on her face. Her body in a silver dress and her beautiful green eyes; sparkling in the light. It was when she walked in, however, that her beautiful smile dropped and tears began to form in her eyes. She didn't say a word. She quietly and quickly, closed the door behind her and left. I didn't know what to say to her, I couldn't form any words. I didn't want her to find out this way, but unfortunately things don't always work out the way you want them to.

"_Maria, wait!" _I shouted out to her as she ran down the hallway crying her eyes out.

It was then that I knew she was gone from me and I would never have her again. She didn't deserve what I just put her through and I don't expect for her to forgive me.

I sighed yet again, for the seventh time tonight as I think about all the hurt and pain I cause Maria. I can't live with myself knowing that I was capable of hurting another human being, let alone my soul mate. I had to find a way to move on from Maria and I did, I moved on with Liz. The more I see it though, the more I wish I hadn't. Liz is not the same person I knew before, she's changed but I have to deal with it….with her, for the rest of my life.

It was then, when I heard a knock on my door. I glanced over at the clock and noticed that it was now 2:30 in the morning and that someone must be crazy to knock on my door this early in the morning. Thinking it might be Randy, the man I'm sharing a room with, possibly being so wasted from his date with Candice, I decided to open the door and let him in.

Opening the door, I noticed that it certainly was not Randy standing there at all. Which means that he probably spent the night with Candice; go figure. Standing in front of me, was the woman I've been thinking of all night long, the woman I hurt those 11 months ago. She stood there in her black shorts and white tank top, covered with a black hoodie. I could tell by staring at her eyes that she had been crying but I chose not to say anything about it, in fear that she might break down again.

-

**Maria POV;**

There he is, the man I've loved for so long. I can't help but still be weak in the knees whenever I see him. He stands before me in his white wife-beater and his black basketball shorts and he looks at me with a face of shock and concern. Evidentially, he must know that I was crying, but I push the thought aside as I find the right words to say to him.

"_What are you doing here so early in the morning? Are you alright?" _he asks me with a soft, calming voice

"_I-I'm fine." _I stutter to him

"_I-I need t-to talk to you." _I say to him with a deep breath

"_Do you want to come in?" _he asks me

"_No. I just need to get this off my chest and walking is not an option for me right now." _I say as I feel my legs wobbling and feeling like jelly.

I physically could not find myself to move around, I would most likely fall because of all my nerves making my body tremble.

"_Oh ok. So what is it you want to talk about?" _he asks me with still some slight concern

"_John, I-I don't know how to tell you this exactly, but I have to get this off of my chest. So please just listen."_

I exhale.

He looks at me and nods, his eyes telling me to urge on.

"_John, when I-when I walked in on you with Liz eleven months ago, I will admit that I was deeply hurt by you. I thought that what we had was something special and that we would be together forever. It took me about 4 months to get over you, but the truth is I still can't. I forgave you along time ago for cheating on me with her, but I can't forgive you for proposing to her and wanting to marry her. I mean John are you really happy?"_

I look into his blue eyes and he doesn't answer. I nod my head and continue.

"_We both know that this isn't what you want. You are making a big mistake and you are going to be miserable with her for the rest of your life. I can't let you make that mistake John and I can't stand to see you so down when you are with her. John, don't you see? She's just using you, she doesn't love you like I did and you know it. All she is to you is someone that you can fall back on and try to move on forward with, but you know better than me that you can't move forward. John, I-I don't know what to tell you, but I will tell you that whether or not I want to admit it, I still want to be with you and I want to be the one to walk down that aisle and see you standing there, waiting for me to become your wife. J, please don't marry her. I love you. I always have and I always will." _I say as tears fall down my cheeks.

He looked at me with a serious expression and was contemplating on everything I just said to him. I just spilled my heart out to him and I hope he feels the same way I do.

-xxxxxxx-

**John's POV;**

She loves me? After all the hurt I put her through she still loves me? I don't believe what I'm hearing. She feels the same exact way that I still feel about her. I want nothing more than to grab her and kiss her with all the compassion and love I have for her, but I can't. Someone's face just popped into my mind and I can't do this to her. I can't do this to Liz. She's been planning our wedding for so long and it wouldn't be fair for me to just dump her and leave her hanging like that. I know that I am going to make a mistake by marrying Liz, but she deserves to be happy, even if that means I'm going to have to be miserable.

"_Maria, I can't…" I say in a whisper_

Her now hopeful eyes look down to the ground and I hear a sniffle. It breaks my heart to see her like this, but I continue.

"_I can't do this to her. It wouldn't be fair."_

"_But you could do it to me, right?" she says as her green eyes look into my blue ones_

"_Look Maria, I'm so sorry that I did that to you. It was selfish of me and I should have told you how I felt when I was feeling lonely, but I moved on. I think you should move on too." I say to her_

"_But that's just it John, I can't move on. I've tried. I've gone on dates with other people, but they didn't work. No one measures up to you John. No one can even compare to you. Please, I need you in my life."_

"_I'm sorry but I can't. And you can't do this either. You can't do this to a man who is about to get married in two weeks, Ria. It's not right." I say with a sigh_

I feel horrible for doing this to her, but you just can't do that. If she felt like this for so long, why didn't she say anything earlier? I see her thinking about something and I just think that it's best if I go to bed and pretend this never happened.

"_Ria, I think it's best if we both go back to bed and pretend this didn't happen. Good-night." I say to her as I'm about to close the door_

"_No, John, wait." She says as she stops the door from closing._

-

**Maria's POV;**

I know I am going to sound crazy to him right now, but I have to find a way to win his heart, well…to win him over. I can't bare to watch him marry Liz and I want him to be happy, with me.

"_Look, before we pretend nothing happened, just hear me out. It might sound crazy what I'm about to say but it's an idea. Let's head down to the ring at the arena and have a match. Me against you." I suggest_

"_What? Maria, I think you might be losing it. I can't fight you, it's not right. I can't put my hands on a woman like that." He says in a respective manner_

"_Please J? Come on, we'll do a 2 out of 3 falls match. If you win, then you'll never have to see me again. I'll go to Smackdown and stay there, for good. I'll let you be __**happy**__ with Liz."_

_**(a/n: let's just pretend Maria is still on RAW and she basically will go to Smackdown if she loses.)**_

I studied his face as he now seemed to think about the offer I gave him. About a minute later, he speaks.

"_And what if I lose? What do you get?" he asked me curiously_

I smiled.

"_Well it's simple really, I get you." _

He smirks and then he agrees to my plan. I head back to my room and change into a pair of black stretchy pants and I put on my black sports bra with my white diva shirt over it. I make my way out of my room and I see John standing there, in his usual wrestling attire. We both leave and walk to the arena in silence, since the arena was only 5 minutes away, walking distance.

To my surprise the arena was open and the ring was already set-up for tonight's show. We head down the ramp and we both step in the ring. I take off my black hoodie and John takes off his gray sweater as well.

"_Alright Kanellis, 2 out of 3 falls. So after my two victories, we're done." He says in a cocky manner_

"_Oh, you're on." I said with a smirk._

We lock up in the middle of the ring and he pulls me into a headlock, he hesitates a bit and I know he doesn't want to hurt me.

"_Come on John, I promise you won't hurt me." I say to him so he can give me all he's got_

He nods and we continue. He then flips me over on my back, on the mat and puts me in a tighter headlock. I struggle to get out of his strong, muscular arms, but surprisingly I manage to escape. He then irish whips me towards the ropes and tries to clothesline me, but I duck and I dropkick him as he turned around. His knees hit the ground and I run back towards the front of him and kick him in the face as I bounced off the ropes. He's now on the mat, on his back and I quickly go for the cover, but to no avail. He kicks out after a one count. I get up and he gets up as well and then he does a suplex to me and I land hard on the mat in pain. He looks at me with concern in his eyes and I am still in the middle of the ring; motionless.

"_Shit. I knew this was a bad idea." He says outloud_

John then begins to bend down to me to help me up, but I quickly roll him up for the three count and I won the first fall out of two.

"_Hey! You cheated." He states_

"_Oh well, I won this round. Prepare to lose match number two." I say to him as I get up_

He smirks again and we give each other a minute to catch our breaths before we begin the next round. After a minute, we continue.

-

**John's POV;**

I am feeling really bad about wrestling Maria right now. I have never put my hands on a woman like that at all, I was born and raised right and this doesn't seem so well to me. I was brought up the right way by my parents growing up and I know this is morally wrong, on so many levels. Why I agreed to this, I don't know.

"_Come on John! Show me what you got!" she taunts_

I go towards her and we lock up again. I put her into a headlock and once again, she breaks free and runs towards the ropes and back towards me. I quickly grab her and put her into a suplex and she hits the mat. I immediately go to her side, in fear that I've gone too far this time, but again she taunts me.

"_Come on Cena, is that all you've got really? Man, you're getting pretty soft there buddy. I think you might as well just let me win since you suck right about now." She says as she stands up and gets in my face_

"_I mean really J, toughen up there man. If you really want me to beat you then-"_

She never did get to finish her sentence because I cut her off by pulling her and putting her onto my shoulders and flipping her over onto the mat as I did the FU, er…well Attitude Adjuster, to her and I pinned her for the three count.

"_Kanellis, I do believe I won that round and fairly quickly I might add. It seems that you were all talk and no action that time around." I say as I smirk._

"_Whatever Cena." She says to me as she now is getting irritable_

_-_

**Maria's POV;**

I can not believe that he beat me that round. I will say that I did sort of deserve it though after all that smack that I talked to him. However, I am determined to win this match, not for me but for John's love and for John, to show him that he is making a mistake by marrying Liz. She's not right for him and I know you're asking why I'm saying this and I have my reasons. See, I caught Liz talking on the phone the other day with someone saying that John was basically wrapped around her finger and would do anything for her and that she would soon get all the money she's wanted and will leave him once she gets what she wanted.

She's such a horrible person for doing this to John and I can't believe anyone would play with his emotions like that. I mean sure he hurt me by cheating on me with Liz and that he possibly deserves this, but he doesn't. No one does. I just don't have the heart to tell him either, I'm afraid he'll think I'm lying and unfortunately he is going to have to find out on his own sooner or later. I mean, even his best friend, Randy, doesn't trust Liz but of course if he were to say anything to John, John will miss interrupt it for something else. He has no choice to learn on his own.

So I need to do this for him.

"_Well let's go Kanellis. I believe the score is one to one and we do need a winner." He said as he now began to taunt me._

I rolled my eyes at him and then I went up towards him.

"_Cena, you are so going to lose." I told him with a smirk on my face._

"_Sure. Let's see what you got." He told me._

"_Fine. Oh but Cena, make sure you give it everything you've got this round. No excuses." I said once again only this time serious._

If we wanted a winner, he was going to give me all he's got and I didn't want him to back down or hold anything back.

"_Fine." He said_

Once again, we locked up and once again he had the advantage by having me in a headlock. This time though, it was a tighter headlock and I seriously felt that for a brief couple of seconds, I was going to pass out, but he let me go.

I took a second to catch my breath and when I finally got it back to a normal breathing pattern, I saw John coming towards me and getting ready to do a shoulder block to me, but I quickly ducked out of the way and he landed stomach first onto the mat.

"_Oh. Ouch." I said as I saw him wince in pain._

He then flipped onto his back and laid there for a second and then the minute I saw him try to get up, I went towards the turnbuckle and climbed it and I waited to perform a dropkick to him. He rose from the mat and I immediately jumped off the turnbuckle and performed a dropkick. I hit him with it, but unfortunately I think I injured myself in the process. My ankle twisted when I was in mid-air and when I hit him in the chest, I heard it make a snapping noise and it was now throbbing in pain. Tears fell down my eyes because now I knew that I might not have a chance at winning with this injury. I'm going to continue this match, but I don't know if I can win it.

I should have never told him to hold back during this match because we've been into this match for 15 minutes and I've been hurt for ten of those minutes. I can't continue, the pain is just too much for me to bear. I tried for the last time to run to the ropes and back towards him, but he tripped me and I fell onto my stomach on the mat and he quickly ran by me and put me into an STFU. Now the pain was unbearable, I felt the tears trickle down my cheeks and I knew I couldn't go on. I had no choice but to tap the mat those seven fateful times. I knew it. I lost the match, I was injured, but the most important thing I lost was _John._

-

**John's POV;**

I beat her. I beat her and I should be happy, but why do I feel so horrible? Maybe it's the fact that she has a mascara stained face from the tears that ran down her cheeks, or maybe it's because she's grabbing her ankle that is throbbing with pain, because of me. Or maybe, just maybe, I'm still in _love_ with her.

"_Well congratulations John, I am no longer going to stand in your way with Liz. I hope that you have a happy life." She said as she struggled getting up and hobbled her way over to me._

"_I gave you everything I had and I guess it just wasn't enough." She said in a teary voice_

"_Maria-" I started_

She shook her head.

"_No John, really I'm okay. Just go on with your life and I'll go on with mine, on Smackdown or whatever. Good luck with whatever the future has in store for you John, I know you'll get everything you want." She said._

She looked at me for a good minute, I guess waiting for something, and then she limped her way over to the ropes and stepped out of the ring. She made her way up the ramp and made her way to the backstage area. I stood there watching her leave and I couldn't do a damn thing. It was then that I finally released that I was possibly making the worst mistake possible in marrying Liz. It's already too late though, Maria was going to _Smackdown_ and she was going to be gone, but the worst part is that she's gone out of my _heart_.

-

3 years later;

**John's POV;**

I did it. Finally after a long 5 month feud with Randy, I finally won my World Heavyweight Championship back. It felt great to win it back and I couldn't be any happier.

_"Great job out there man." greeted my best friend Randy_

_"Thanks man. It's good to be champ again." I said with a smile on my face_

_"I bet it does. You do know what this means now right?" he said with a smirk_

_"What?" I asked confused now._

_"Oh come on man, it means I'm going to be challenging you once again. I smell another Cena vs Orton feud."_

_"Yeah ok. Keep dreaming Orton." I said with a chuckle._

_"Yeah yeah. Well I've gotta go and meet Candice, I promised her I'd taker her out to dinner. Oh and your wife is waiting for you in your locker room." he informed me_

_"Thanks. See you later." I said as we bumped knuckles._

Randy walked off and went to meet up with Candice. I still can't believe that Randy has now been dating Candice for three years and they are still going strong. I'd never thought I'd see the day that Randy would become a one-woman man, much less dating a diva, but I like Candice for him. She's changed Randy in so many ways and she doesn't even know it. They are basically perfect for each other.

I started making my way back to my locker room to meet up with my wife of three years. I must say that a lot has happened between us. We have our everyday husband and wife arguments, but at the end of the day we still love each other no matter what.

I finally approached my door and turned the doorknob to walk into my room. As soon as I entered, however, I was welcomed by my wife jumping into my arms and hugging me so tightly that I thought I wasn't going to be able to breathe. She gave me the most passionate kiss she's ever given me, but it doesn't surprise me. My wife has always been passionate and in love with me, she always wants to make me happy even when I already am. She does little things that make me more in love with her, ever since the day I met her.

_"Congratulations baby! I am so proud of you." she says as she hugs me and then pulls back to look into my eyes._

_"Thank you. I am so happy, you don't understand. I've worked so hard to win my title back." I say as we make our way to the couch so I can sit and relax._

_"I know. You were training non-stop John, but all of your hard work paid off in a big way." she replied with a smile on her face as she laced her hands with mine._

_"It sure did and I have you to thank." I told her as she faced me._

_"Me? What did I do?" she asked with her confused face that I find adorable every time she does it._

_"Well, you were always supportive of me and told me to never give up. You encouraged me, even when I thought I couldn't do it and you've made me a happy man." I said with a grin as I saw her smile at me._

She kissed me on the lips in the softest, most gentle way she possibly could do and I enjoyed every second of it. She broke the kiss a minute later, and she leaned back against my chest as I had my arms wrapped around her and I kissed the top of her head.

_"Well, I'm happy to help." she said with a small giggle._

I laughed a bit at this and we sat in comfortable silence for a good minute or two until I broke the silence.

_"Babe?" _

_"Yeah John?" she asked as she tilted her head to look up at me._

_"Did you think I was going to win tonight?" I asked, really from out of nowhere._

_"Of course I did John. I knew you could do it the whole time."_

I smiled at her kind words. You know how they say that a man can make a woman feel like she's on top of the world? Well, I think with her, she makes me feel on top of the world.

_"God, I love you Maria."_

_"I love you too John."_

_-_

**Maria POV;**

I kissed John once again after he told me he loved me. I bet you're shocked that John and I are together and married, nonetheless, but we are and I couldn't be any happier. After our little one on one match three years ago, I was sure that I would never have the chance to be with him and that I had embarrassed myself by even challenging him. Two weeks had passed by since that match and I was sure that John was fully intent on marrying Liz. I was surprised however when he showed up at my hotel room door, the day of his wedding and told me he loved me and wanted to be with me. He had found out about Liz the night before his wedding and he was heartbroken to say the least, but at the same time he was relieved that he found out before he made the mistake and married her.

We got together immediately after he professed his love for me that day and within seven months, we were engaged and married. We didn't think it was too soon. Everyone knew that John and I belonged together and so did we. Our close friends and families attended our beach wedding in Hawaii. We married, in front of the sunset and had a lavish reception with everyone that attended.

Liz hasn't been heard from or seen of again since the day of her wedding, word is that she freaked out and left to Australia to try and make a new life for herself. That's great for her, but I could care less about her at this moment in time. I have a beautiful home, great friends and family and a wonderful husband, who I am madly in love with.

Just as we were getting into the moment and enjoying our current state of bliss, we were interrupted by three people coming into our room, well the third person running into our room and towards us. I smiled at John and he smiled back as we watched the person approach us.

_"Mommy mommy, guess what?"_

_"What?" I say going along with my son's question_

_"Uncle Randy taught me a new word today!" he exclaimed_

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that John and I have a son. His name is Anthony Cena. I found out I was pregnant with him two months after John and I got married. It was a surprise to say the least, seeing as that John and I wanted to be married a bit before we thought about having children, but we were both over the moon with the news. John was extremely happy, I was nervous that he would be mad about having a baby so soon, but no, he surprises me with being happy about it. During my pregnancy, poor John had to deal with my hormones and my cravings, but hey he's a champ and he didn't mind.

_"Oh really?" I said while raising an eyebrow_

_"I didn't teach him a new word, I swear...it was Candice" he said pointing to his girlfriend_

_"Hey!" she said slapping him on the arm_

_"I so did not teach him a new word. It was all you; you shouldn't have walked in and said it in the first place."_

_"Randy what did you teach our son?" John asked_

_"Daddy, what's sex?" he said in a sweet voice_

_" WHAT?!" John and I said at the same time_

_"I said what's se-"_

_"I think we got it sweetie. John would you please?" i asked as he nodded his head and I picked up Anthony, put him on my lap and gave him a kiss on the cheek._

We watched as John went towards Randy and smacked him upside the head. Randy winced and then started yelling at John and John yelled back, playfully, and then it eventually leaded to Randy still blaming Candice and Candice smacking Randy upside the head. Anthony and I laughed at everything that was happening in the room. John took a seat next to us on the couch and he put his arm around my shoulder and I leaned back in his touch.

"Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Randy is so crazy." our son said

I chuckled as I kissed him on the top of his head and John smiled.

"What are you smiling about there?" I asked

"Just thinking."

"About what?" I asked as Candice now had Randy in a headlock

"About our whole relationship and how we ended up together again."

"And what do you think about it?" I asked him as I stroked Anthony's arm and he was falling asleep.

"I think that it was a crazy ride." he said with a laugh, "But it was definitely worth it."

I smiled at him and he smiled back at me, he then leaned over towards me and gave me a love filled kiss on the lips and then pressed his forehead against my own.

"I love you." he said

"I love you too and I think our crazy ride was definitely worth it too." I said with a soft laugh.

"Come on. Let's go home." he said as he took Anthony from my arms and held him in his own. Randy & Candice fell asleep on the floor, I guess tired from wrestling each other playfully around the room. I had to laugh though because Candice still had Randy in a headlock and they were asleep, but Randy had his arms around her waist.

"Should we wake them up?" I asked as I grabbed my bag

"No, I think we should leave them." he said with a laugh

I nodded and we made our way out to the parking lot and into our car. We safely buckled Anthony into his car seat and then John went into the driver's side of the car and began to take off as we headed home. As I looked out the window, I thought about everything that has happened in my life. From John cheating on me, to him getting engaged, to our little wrestling match, then to him telling me he loves me and breaking off his engagement and then to our wedding and lastly, the wonderful birth of our son. He is such a blessing to us and has made life better for us. I can honestly and truly say that I wouldn't trade any of those moments for the world. I always believe everything is meant to happen for a reason and luckily for John & I, we came out of hard times and now we have the best moments in the world and we have such a strong bond between us.

I turned towards John and I leaned over and pecked his cheeks and then he grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it and held on to it throughout the whole ride.

"What was that for?" he asked with a smile

"Just a little reminder at how much I love you." I said with a content sigh and smile as I leaned my head on his shoulder.

Life can through you many curveballs and it's up to you on how you handle these obstacles. Life definitely through me some tough obstacles, but I overcame them. Sure it took me a wrestling match with my husband to make us happy and get us back together, but as you can see, it was worth it. They say that all is fair and love and war but I say all is fair in _**love and wrestling.**_

-

_A/N: Finally! I finished. I have been working on this for about 5 months...haha. I was thinking of changing this couple so many times, but I decided oh I'll just leave it. I hope you all liked this. It came out to 11 pages and I think that this is the longest one-shot that I have ever written. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!_

_Ellie._


End file.
